


Stripped Bare

by sailorshinji



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drunken Shenanigans, F/F, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nipple Piercings, Oral Sex, Slow Burn, Strap-Ons, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-07 23:20:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17375096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailorshinji/pseuds/sailorshinji
Summary: Adora, Glimmer, and Bow have been working hard at the University of Bright Moon. When one of them brings up the idea of going to a strip club to let loose during the weekend, the other two happily agree! What could go wrong? Only the fact that Adora recognizes one of the strippers as a familiar face that she hasn't seen in years... and they're not exactly on the best of terms... and she's about to receive a lap dance from her. ((Everyone is 21+))





	1. Chapter 1

Class for the day was finally over. Adora sat at the shaded table outside of one of the dozens of coffee shops on her college campus, scrolling through her phone. In the distance she heard a loud groan, _Oh, good they're out of class now._

Glimmer clung to Bow's arm and leaned her head against his shoulder, "That was _the_ hardest exam I've ever had to take! Half of it wasn't even on the study guide!"

Bow sighed as he took the bench seat across from Adora, "Hey, I tried to warn you that a politics course was no joke. You were the one who wanted to prove to your mom that you could handle a Poly-Sci major!"

Adora took a sip from her coffee, "Do you think you passed?" she asked empathetically. 

"I think I'm about to drop out and start stripping for money. I'm sooo ready for a three-day weekend. We need to do something fun!"

Bow looked up thoughtfully while pulling on the strings of his hoodie, "Mmm… it's only a weekend though. How crazy can we really get?"

"Theme park?" Adora suggested. 

Glimmer shook her head furiously, "We can't go back there, Bow's deathly afraid of theme park mascots." 

"You can't see their eyes! Where are they looking?! Why are they allowed to touch you?!"

Adora examined the ends of her ponytail, her hair was getting too long for her liking and the sun had bleached it blonder than she was used to, "Well we're not throwing another kickback at my apartment. Mermista hates it when I have people over. Actually, I think she just hates people in general…"

The three of them stared into the distance in quiet contemplation, suddenly interrupted by Bow slamming his hands down on the table, "That's it! Stripping!"

Glimmer scoffed in offense, "Excuse you! We don’t know if I failed _yet_!"  
"No, no! We should go to a strip club! It would be so much fun!"

Adora cocked her head to the side and squinted, "Uh.. What kinda strip club are we talkin' here?"

"Yeaaah I wasn't as into Magic Mike as you were, Bow," Glimmer said skeptically. 

"As gay as I am, a male strip club sounds a little too… bachelorette party. I meant a club with girl strippers! Y'know, pole dancing, neon lights, free lunch!"

Adora's attention was caught. She hadn't considered going to a strip club in… ever. It was no secret that she was into girls and it wasn't like she had a lack of girls into her, but the dating scene on campus never really piqued her interest. Between basketball practice, a full course-load, and an internship she barely had time to breathe. A one-day trip to a strip club couldn't do any harm could it? 

Adora pulled off the elastic that was holding her ponytail and shook her hair out, "Yeah, that could be fun." 

Glimmer watched the hair fall over Adora's shoulders, twisting a finger through her own pink curls in thought, "That actually does sound fun… I don't want to go anywhere near here though. My mom would kill me if she knew that's what I was spending my money on."

Bow's eyes lit up, he gasped as he grabbed Glimmer by the shoulders and shook her, "Are we really doing this?!"

Glimmer swayed with Bow's arms "Alright, Alright! But like I said nowhere near here! We could go to The Horde, but we should go during the day. It's not that safe over there at night"

Adora's stomach dropped. "The Horde" was the not-so-flattering name that the well-off upper-middle-class people from Bright Moon had given her hometown. Glimmer and Bow had no way of knowing that Adora was originally from there- not that they would judge her- but they were right it _wasn't_ a good part of town. Adora had her reasons for leaving, but it wasn't necessarily something she was dying to bring up. The Horde had a ton of strip clubs and the chances of her running into someone from her past were slim to none. It wasn't like anyone from home would recognize her hanging out with a couple of Bright Moon kids anyway.

Adora smiled and gave a confident nod to her friends, "Tomorrow afternoon! We'll meet at your place, Glimmer." 

\---

Bow snorted, trying to keep focused on the road while he snickered at his best friend for the third time in 40 minutes, "I don't mean to keep laughing, but I do. 'Donating blood'? Is that seriously the best lie you could have told your mom for borrowing her car? I don't think those places are even open on Saturdays."

Glimmer buried her face in her hands and muffled a loud, agonized groan, "She put the pressure on me! She totally knows we're up to no good… I'm gonna be grounded for the next five years…"

Adora chuckled from the back seat, "Glimmer, you're 21 years old! She can't ground you anymore."

"That's easy for you to say! You're her intern, not her ki-"

"There it is~!" Bow hummed as he pulled into a moderately empty parking lot. "Everybody got their singles?"

Glimmer opened her purse and nodded as Adora pulled a stack of singles out of her jacket pocket and waved them. 

Glimmer looked up at the club, a small-ish building with no windows and a huge neon sign over the entrance that flashed _XXX, 18+ UP ONLY_ , "So we're… we're really doing this huh…". 

Bow threw the car door open, got out, and leaned down to look at his friend, "Glim, you're not backing out! We drove all the way here and if I remember correctly a certain someone deserves to cut loose after surviving her last test!" He walked to her side of the car and swung her door open, "Now let's go see some titties!" 

She laughed nervously, taking off her seatbelt and getting out of the car, "Alright, alright! But we're only staying long enough to say that we did this! If it gets weird we're leaving!" Glimmer swung her car door shut and looked away from Bow, trying hide her nervousness. Cute girls were her one weakness and she had a hard time hiding it. She wasn't sure what the correct strip club etiquette was, but she prayed to whoever was listening that she didn't embarrass herself. 

Glimmer turned around and waved for Adora to come with them, "C'mon! Best friend squad! No Adora left behind!" 

Adora was spaced out, glancing around the parking lot. Across the street was the McDonalds she would walk to after school. Down the road was the library she would study at until they would kick her out at closing. A couple blocks away was where she would go skating with-

"Earth to Adora! Let's gooo~!"

She snapped out of her nostalgia trip, "Oh, yeah sorry. Just counting my money to make sure I brought enough…" As she closed her car door behind her, she could see someone across the parking lot walking with a duffle bag into the employees only entrance to the club. She didn't get a good look, but she did notice that they were wearing a hoodie from her old high school. 

_Ugh. Recruiting dancers straight out of high school? That's so gross…_

Bow was the only one confident and coherent enough to lead the way into the club. The two girls with him quietly envied his ability to fit in any and everywhere. The three of them lined up to give the bouncer their I.D.'s and their cover charge- Glimmer's round cheeks and short stature made the bouncer scrutinize the birthday on her license extra close, Adora's height got her waved in almost immediately. 

_I don't look that old do I?!_

The bouncer gestured them behind a velvet curtain. Bow clutched Glimmer's arm in excitement, Glimmer started to break out into a cold sweat, Adora's face slowly got more and more red. As Adora pulled back the curtain to the other world, the result was… 

Underwhelming?

Inside the club was a decently sized, very dimly lit room. There was a bar off to the side with a few televisions showing random football games and recaps. Next to the bar was a DJ booth playing moderately loud music, but not so loud that you couldn't hear yourself think. The club was an assortment of different seats, all with a clear view of the stage. In the middle of the club was a tiny runway with a pole at the very front; there was a sort of bar surrounding it with chairs where patrons could sit and watch the show up-close, and a walkway between the two where the dancers could go through and thank their audience personally. 

The music wasn't fast-paced and blaring like the trio thought it would be. The DJ was spinning something slow and melodic, almost trance-like. The dancer on stage was leisurely walking around the pole in her platform heels, surveying her audience. 

"Let's sit by the stage!" whispered Bow, motioning for his friends to follow him. 

He excitedly took a seat, front-and-center. Glimmer followed him, feeling like she was about to die. Adora took the seat next to her, "Hey, you doing alright?"

Glimmer nodded her head rapidly, "I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be fine? This is fun! We're gonna have so much fun!" she squeaked.

Adora glanced around the room while realizing that, besides a couple of older men watching the game at the bar, the three of them were the only ones there. 

The trio sat in front of the stage, watching as the dancer writhed in time to the music. She slowly undid the strings on the top she was wearing and pulled it off in what was probably less than a second but felt like a lifetime.

Glimmer nervously started tugging on the sleeves of her shirt, she suddenly wished she could teleport somewhere far, far away. Next to her, Adora was having second thoughts too. Of course this wasn't their first time seeing another woman naked, but god… were girls always this pretty? And tall? And graceful? 

A scantily clad waitress took the seat next to Bow and smiled at them, "Hey guys! Can I get y'all anything to drink?"

Bow smiled back, "Ooh! I'll take a water!"

The two girls blushed and stammered. 

"Um! Peps- Coke! I'll take whatever you have!"  
"I'm, uh, not really thirst- um, waterisfinethankhyou!"

The waitress nodded and walked to the bar as Bow looked at his friends, wide eyed, "I'm shocked! By Glimmer, not so much, but Adora! You're usually such a player! What happened?!" 

Adora looked forward and leaned on her arm, sighing, "I'm out of my element, alright? I'm not used to this-"

"We'll just have to make you feel more at home then!" said a voice from above her. The dancer who had just been on stage was standing in the walkway in front of them, larger than life in her platforms. She flipped long, red hair over her shoulder and smirked "Loosen up, girl, we don't bite!" she laughed. 

Bow laughed with her and handed the dancer a dollar bill, "You did so good!"

The dancer thanked him as she took two more dollars from Glimmer's anxious hands, "Thanks, hun, love your pink hair by the way!" 

Glimmer blushed, "Y-you're welcome! And thank you!"

Adora sat up straight, and gave an embarrassed grin. Alright, sure she was out of her element but why should that stop her from having a good time? She deserved it! She handed the dancer a couple of dollars and thanked her for her work. 

"See, that wasn't so scary, right?" teased Bow. The two girls shook their heads and genuinely laughed for the first time. The waitress returned with their drinks and they sat through several more dances. 

A couple of the dancers did acrobatic tricks with the pole, and at the end of their sets Bow cheered from his seat, "Yeeesss! Oh my god how is she doing that?!" he applauded. His friends weren't sure if it was his usual happy demeanor or his own passion for dance, but the mood was infectious and eventually the two of them were cheering for the performers along with him. 

"Yaaaasss, queen!" Glimmer clapped as one of the women somersaulted off of the pole into a split and twerked a butt cheek. 

Adora's mouth gaped at some of the gymnastics she was watching. She had always been the athletic type but nowhere near as flexible as the women here!

Bow leaned over to his friends between sets, "So, have we stayed long enough to say we've been here?" he asked jokingly.

Adora gave him puppy-dog eyes like a kid in an candy store, "Aw, what?! Can we pleeeaaase stay for a couple more dances?"

Glimmer laughed, "Yeah! We should stay for a couple more and then go get lunch somewhere. If I have one more free soda I think my bladder's going to explode." 

The mood of the music changed to a jazzy reggae melody as the DJ welcomed another dancer on to the stage, "Alright guys, we're gonna take things real nice and slow now… Please give a warm welcome to our next dancer, _Catrina_!"

A new girl climbed the steps to the stage. She was slimmer and somewhat shorter than the others, even in the heels, but almost disproportionate to the voluminous mass of dark, teased hair on her head. Her body had several tattoos, including paw prints that went up the back of one of her thighs, but she moved too much to get a good view of all them. She was different from the others, far from the peppy, energetic dancers they had watched previously. Her lack of a stage smile gave off a no-nonsense attitude. 

Nonetheless, Glimmer and Bow rooted loudly for her. Adora clapped slowly, feeling a sense of deja-vu. 

_Do I… Know her from somewhere? Did we have class together…? Did I see her in line at Starbucks? Please tell me it's one of those and not-_

The dancer's music queued up, as she started slowly walking down the runway. Body glitter on her golden-tan skin shone under the stage lights, showing off cat stripe tattoos on her arms. She lazily began to tug at the top of her short-shorts, pulling them up the curve her inner thigh first, then pushing them down to the floor and kicking them off into the walkway, revealing a skin-tight black bodysuit. Her hands worked their way up, first feeling up her inner-thighs, then her stomach, then kneading at her breasts before finally tangling into the mess of her long, brown hair on her head. She ran a hand through it, pushing her bangs from her face and revealing freckles on her cheeks. The dancer glanced down at the three members of her audience at the front of the stage. 

Adora's blood ran cold as their eyes met. Even with the club lighting she could see the unmistakable gold and blue heterochromia. They hadn't seen each other in almost four years, not since they graduated high school together. 

_Oh no. Oh no no no no no… God, tell me that's not her… Tell me that isn't Catra._

On the stage, "Catrina" started to untie the halter of her body suit, pulling it down to reveal two small, round breasts with nipple piercings. Her hand pushed the body suit off of her curves as she wound her hips to the music. Adora was frozen to her seat, her body unable to decide whether fight or flight was the appropriate response. The girl on stage stripped off the suit, revealing a belly button piercing, a string thong and more tattoos underneath. She grabbed hold of the pole and slowly slid to the ground, getting on her hands and knees, she crawled forward, arching her back like a cat and not breaking eye contact with the blonde in the front row. 

Adora broke out into a cold sweat, it was like watching a car crash but a thousand times worse, she couldn't look away. 

Even though they couldn't take their eyes off of the stage up until this point, Glimmer and Bow turned their heads in unison to look at Adora. Every dancer until now had paid equal attention to all three of them but for some reason, this one was fixated on her and her alone.

The dancer closed her eyes, rolling over on to her back and slowly pulsating her hips into the air to the beat. She dropped her hips and sat up in a fluid body-roll motion, before slowly untying the string on her thong. The dancer tossed her hair over her shoulder and side-eyed Adora, scanning her over like a predator analyzing its prey. 

After what felt like an eternity, the dance ended and the DJ announced, "Everyone give it up for sexy and wonderful Catrina!"

She gets no cheering round of applause from her front-row audience, just stunned silence. 

"…Whoa…" Glimmer whispered.  
Bow gasped and reached over to put his hand on Adora's, "That… was… amazing! She's totally into you! Adora we've got to buy you a dance with her before we go!"

Adora snapped out of her stupor and whipped her head towards Bow, " _No-_!"

Before she could protest, "Catrina" was already behind their seats. Bow handed a $20 bill to her and she slid it out of his hand with two fingers while ambling towards his friend. Adora's veins turned to ice as the dancer placed one tan, manicured hand on her shoulder while whispering in her low, husky voice, "Hey, Adora. Long time no see~". 

Even through her jacket, Adora could feel the claw-like nails dig in.

Glimmer furrowed her brow as she sensed something was off. Do they… know each other?

Before she could say anything Adora stood up to follow the dancer, who was just barely as tall as her in platform heels. Catra curled her finger in a "come-hither" motion and led her towards a bead-curtained booth that read _V.I.P._ in neon letters above the entrance. 

The dancer looked back at the other two and winked, "Don't worry guys, I'll have her back in one piece."


	2. Chapter 2

Adora was about to wake up any minute now. This was all just a bad dream or a sick joke. There was no way she was being led to a leather couch behind a bead curtain by a barely-clothed Catra, the ex she hadn't even spoken to in years. 

Adora anxiously sat on the couch and attempted to avert her eyes to anywhere else in the room. The ceiling in the booth was lit to look like stars! That was a nice touch. What kind of leather was the couch she was sitting on? Cow? Artificial? Are there any other kinds of leather? God, Catra looked good after all this time apart. Horse leather! Was that a thing? Adora hoped that wasn't a thing. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Catra's pierced breasts in her immediate line of sight, "One dance. Four minutes. No touching. You want another dance it's another $20," she spoke bluntly. Catra hit a button on a small speaker and another song started up. She turned away from Adora, kneeled over with her hands on her knees and started gyrating her hips.

_Say something, Adora! Anything! This is gonna be so much more awkward if I don't say anything!_

Adora cleared her throat, "I-it's been a while! How've you been?"

_Idiot! Why am I talking?! I shouldn't have said anything!_

Catra turned around and leaned one of her legs and both arms on to the couch, boxing Adora in, but careful not to touch her, "How have I been? Hm, let's see. I'm at my day job, mostly naked, giving my high school ex a lap dance for $20 at three in the afternoon. I think this is most people's version of hell, but other than that I'm great. How are you?" 

Adora wasn't sure if her heart was about to jump out of her throat or sink to the pit of her stomach, "I- I didn't come here to see you- I mean its not that I'm avoiding you! This is just a, um, coincidence…" her voice trailed off as she tried not to meet Catra's glare. 

"I didn't think this was the kind of place Bright Moon kids came to during the day. We get a lot of your football team at night, but you and your friends out there don't strike me as the football type," she remarked, slowly beginning to grind her hips in Adora's direction. Catra knew this was torture to her old friend, and if she was being honest with herself it was torture to her too. But was it worth it to watch Adora squirm after all these years? Abso-freakin-lutely. 

Adora felt her cheeks heat up all the way to her ears. This was the longest four minutes of her life-- she wished the couch could just open up, swallow her whole, and spit her out in her own bed… alone, not with Catra. Why was she thinking of being in bed with Catra? That's weird! You're not supposed to think about your high school ex like that! She had to stay focused on something, anything else! She noticed the rhinestone hanging from Catra's bellybutton piercing. Her memory flashed back to when she was sixteen, holding Catra's hand in the piercing studio after they had lied about their ages. When the needle went in, Catra squeezed Adora's hand so hard she thought it was going to break, then threw up in the parking lot after. She was a lanky and awkward teenager who thought the piercing would give her a confidence boost and Adora was the only person to ever know about it. 

Was. 

She thought about how many other people had been in this booth, looking at that piercing, watching her ex thrust and sway. Adora sat in mortified, tight-lipped silence. 

Catra smirked to herself. Her ex was bad at lying and even worse at hiding her embarrassment. Catra decided to milk her performance time for all it was worth- twirling herself around, feeling herself up, even throwing in a couple of spanks and quiet moans here and there. She wasn't sure what her goal was, but before she could figure it out the song ended. Adora let out a deep breath that she didn't realize she was holding in and shoved the rest of her singles towards Catra. 

Adora was about to show herself out, pushing the curtain aside-- but before she left she turned her head towards her ex, still avoiding eye contact. "I just wanna say… I'm sorry for how it… ended between us. I hope you're doing well now, and I mean that… See you around." She let the curtain drop between them and the beads clattered together as Adora returned to her two friends waiting outside. "C'mon, let's head out."

Catra stood in the booth, clutching the money in stunned silence. Her chest heaved from exerting herself as she wiped the sweat from her brow. 

_She's so different now and yet she_ still _has to get the last word in…_

\-----

Bow spent the rest of the evening apologizing to Adora for putting her in that position, Adora swore up and down that it was fine and that she really did have fun. Glimmer asked if they knew each other and Adora just laughed nervously and waved it off, neither confirming nor denying. The next day of her three day weekend was spent mostly in bed. Bow had invited her out for brunch and Adora politely declined. Knowing that he would try to pry more information out of her, she claimed to have bad stomach ache from something she ate. 

That wasn't much of a lie. Her stomach was in knots, and her head was a fog. Adora spent the day in pajamas, heating up old leftovers and only standing up to trade her bed for the couch. 

Adora listened as her roommate, Mermista, came out of her room to dig in the fridge. Unamused as always, she noted the blanket cocoon Adora had constructed for herself on their sofa, "What's up with _you_?"

Adora stared at their TV, trying to focus on a very important Food Network rerun that she had already seen five times. "Nothing. I'm fine. I just have a stomach ache from some bad food."

Mermista glanced at the container she was about to heat up before deciding to dump it in the trash, "Whatever. I wanted to get Chipotle anyway…"

Adora felt the blankets weighing down on her as the drone of stock music on TV lulled her to sleep. She dreamt that she was back in her own room, but this version was more unsettling. She couldn't read the words on her posters and the colors of everything were slightly off. She felt something unusually warm behind her and a soft pressure on her ribcage. When she looked down, a brown, warm arm decorated in tattoos was wrapped around her waist. She slowly turned to look over her shoulder and all she saw was a tangle of brown hair sprawled out on the pillow next to her. "Hey, Adora~" drawled out the raspy, sleepy voice.

Adora's eyes snapped open as she felt herself hit the living room floor with a loud thud. The blankets she was wrapped in had been kicked off in her sleep and she scanned her surroundings with her heart thumping.

_Thank god it actually was a nightmare this ti- Wait… what time is it?_

Outside the apartment window, the sunset she slept through the night before had already turned into a sunrise. Adora groaned loudly and raked a finger through her hair to get out the knots. A whole day of her weekend had been wasted, but she wasn't wiling to waste this one!

Adora frantically tossed off the pajamas she had been wearing, threw on a clean set of sweats and tied on her favorite pair of running shoes. She took time to stretch before grabbing her phone and selecting her workout playlist. Before leaving, she opened the fridge for a cold bottle of water and noticed something burrito-shaped, wrapped in foil with a sticky note on it that read, " _Just get me next time. -M_ " 

Her music was on full-blast as she made her way down the stairs and out of her apartment building. The usual route was waiting for her. The first time she did this run it took her two hours, not because her time was slow but because the area was so unfamiliar to her. The buildings all looked the same and blurred together, but she absolutely could not allow herself to ask for directions. Eventually she made her way back, dripping with sweat and exhausted. The next time she did the run it took her an hour and a half. The time after that it only took her 45 minutes. Nowadays Adora's morning run only took 30 minutes. The area around her apartment was native and inviting to her. A couple more years here and Adora could even consider calling Bright Moon home. 

She made it past her usual landmarks- the park, the diner, the salon, the dog groomer- rounding the bend back to her own building. Adora closed her eyes and smiled, the day was off to a good start and she was starting to feel like herself again. 

Her playlist switched songs and she hummed along, letting her off-key voice echo off the walls as she climbed the stairs back to her apartment. Adora opened the door to her hallway from the stairwell and her voice caught in her throat. Someone was sitting outside her door. 

No more than five-foot-three without platforms, big brown hair tied back into a messy ponytail with bangs falling into her eyes, small figure now draped in a huge flannel shirt, yoga pants, and an extremely faded band t-shirt that now only spelled " _B ink-132_ ". She was crouched outside the door, examining whatever was under her long nails, leaning against the wall. Catra glanced up, looked back down at her nails, then back up at Adora. "Oh! Y-you're here. Hi…"

Adora froze in the hallway. 

_A stroke, right? This is what having a stroke feels like?_


	3. Chapter 3

"Catra… what are you doing- how did you know I live here?!" Adora stammered. 

Catra looked away and brushed her bangs out of her face, unwilling to look Adora in the eye, "Your friend from the club, the guy in the red hoodie? He's kind of instagram famous. One of my coworkers follows him and showed me his account so I, uh, sent him a DM. He's under the impression that we've never met but I've fallen 'madly in love at first sight' with you and he wanted to reunite us. He gave me your address. You gotta be careful with that dude. I think he was about to tell me your blood type and your social," she chuckled awkwardly. 

Adora wasn't laughing. She could feel her face burning up but she wasn't going to allow herself to be humiliated in her own apartment. Only Mermista could to do that to her. "What do you want, Catra?" she demanded. 

Catra stood up straight, looking up to stare down Adora with defiance, "We need to talk."

Adora bluntly turned away from Catra and jammed her key into the door, "I don't think we have anything to talk about. It's been four years." 

A small hand quickly placed itself on top of Adora's wrist as she was about to turn the key. Adora turned back to Catra and opened her mouth in objection but was interrupted, "That's exactly _why_ we need to talk, Adora." Catra thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest. She was used to dancing fully nude in front of strangers every day, but this was way more uncomfortable. 

Adora sighed and continued to turn the lock, opening the door to her place. There were used dishes on the coffee table and shoes in the doorway. There were empty beer bottles on the counter and the trash in the kitchen hadn't been taken out yet but was dangerously close to overflowing with takeout containers. Adora rubbed the back of her neck in shame, "We- uh- we don’t expect company here often. I need to rinse off, I'm all gross after running. You can hang out here. There's waters in the fridge if you want one."

Catra awkwardly sunk into the pile of blankets on the living room sofa while Adora disappeared down a tiny hallway. It had been four years but Catra could tell by the mess that this was definitely Adora's apartment, not that she was much cleaner herself. A quick glance around gave some hints to what her ex had been up to in the past couple years. There was an a laptop, a few papers, and a sketchbook scattered on the kitchen table. A worn-out basketball was resting underneath the tiny Ikea table that held up the TV. The walls had decorative stars taped up to them and a joke banner that read " _PLEASE LEAVE BY 9_ ". A few photos were taped up as well- a polariod of Adora hanging out on a beach with the two people Catra had seen her with before, photo-booth strip of Adora hugging the girl with pink hair and making poses with her, another photo of Adora and a girl with longer, teal hair dressed up as pirates for a costume party. 

_I wonder if one of those is her girlfriend…_

Catra sighed, pulling her knees towards her chest as she listened to the shower run down the hall.

Adora stared into space, letting the lukewarm water run over her back. She could kill Bow for being so gullible and charismatic. What could Catra possibly want to talk about? Was she in trouble? Did she need a place to stay? They had a couch but Catra would have to get on the lease… Was she here for some kind of revenge? No, it had been four years, if she wanted payback she would have taken it by now. Adora looked down at her fingertips as they started to prune, _Only one way to find out..._

She toweled off and threw on a tank top and some pants, letting her wet hair drape over her broad shoulders. Adora grabbed a pair of sunglasses and her wallet. "Okay," she called as she walked back out, "we should go somewhere. It's kind of messy in here."

Catra looked up at her ex. Adora's skin was still slightly pink and dewy from the warm shower. The dirty blonde hair that Catra had remembered from high school was much longer and sun-bleached to a golden blonde. Her triceps had become more defined from her time on the women's basketball team and… did she seem taller? It wouldn't surprise her if Adora had another growth-spurt in college. Catra quickly looked away, _I didn't come here to check out my ex! My sweaty, incredibly shredded, hot ex!_

Catra dangled a pair of keys from her fingers, "I can drive. I know a place by here."

\---

Adora clutched a warm cup of coffee between her hands, waiting for it to cool off. Catra shook up her bubble tea and stabbed a straw into the plastic top. The short car ride over to the café had been nothing but awkward small talk. Adora admitted that Catra's car was a lot nicer than her own and she had taken good care of it… but now the conversation had died down. They obviously didn't come here to discuss cars.

Catra swirled the straw around her drink and took a deep breath. Adora held hers before finally building up the courage to ask, "So… why did you feel the need to track me down after all these years?"

Catra looked up at her and felt something in the pit of her stomach as she confessed, "Honestly? I probably wouldn't have if I didn't see you at my work the other day." Adora felt a pang of sadness but let Catra continue, "I just… I wanted to make it clear that I'm not some charity case, okay?!"

Adora's eyes widened, _that_ wasn't what she was expecting, "Charity case..?"

"Yeah! Look, I don't want you to get the idea in your head that I'm in a bad situation just because I'm a stripper. I know you, Adora. When you saw me in your hallway you probably thought that I was struggling for money or trying to crash with you."

_How did she-?!_

"But the reality is that I'm doing really well for myself! I'm working good hours with people that I like! I'm making five times more money than anyone else our age, I'm renting my own house, and I can afford payments on my car. Yeah, I never went to college but that means that I don't have any student loans to pay back. The world never owed me anything and now I don't owe it anything either!" Catra declared proudly. She couldn't help smiling and Adora could sense the air of smugness behind it.

Despite the gloating Adora could feel her eyes watering up. She was never one for tears but this time she couldn't help it! Her nose started sniffling and she turned away to quickly dry her eyes.

"Um? Are you… crying…?"

"I'm just so… so…" her voice started to crack, "I'm so _relieved_ to hear that! I know it's been years but I still worry about you!"

"What? Why?!" Catra ripped a napkin out of the dispenser and handed it to her while glancing around, not being able to shake the feeling that people in the café were staring. 

"When I left for school you wouldn't talk to me at all! I know we didn't leave things on good terms but when I moved to Bright Moon my first night in the dorms was so lonely that I tried calling you a bunch of times! But you had already blocked my number! I know it's because I was awful, but I couldn't help but get paranoid that you were in trouble somewhere or- or worse!"

Catra couldn't help herself, she snorted in an attempt to stifle a laugh, "Or 'worse'?"

"It's not funny, Catra!" she exclaimed, balling up the napkin in her hand. "You had me worried sick to the point where I couldn't function! I couldn't live that way so I eventually I just… gave up on trying to reach out to you."

Catra's laughter stopped as guilt slowly overcame her, "Look, I won't lie… it was rough when you left. But I was so angry back then, I promised myself I wouldn't go crawling back to you for help. But look at us now! We're grown up! We're fine! We're safe!" she smiled, trying not to let her own voice break.

Adora was quiet for a moment, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. "Yeah. You're right. I really am glad you're doing better though. And I would never judge you for being a… uh… dancer."

That actually made Catra laugh out loud, "God, Bright Moon really did turn you into a prude! I'm a stripper, Adora. Say it."

Adora finally let out a chuckle and rolled her eyes, "Alright, alright! Fine! You're a stripper."

"And a good one too!" Catra winked. 

Adora felt her face getting red again and looked away while taking a sip from her coffee. Was the café always this warm? When did it get so warm?

She cleared her throat and glanced back at Catra, "So what made you decide to, uh…"

Catra smirked, "Remember Scropia? From English class?"

"She strips too?!" Adora exclaimed, a little too loudly.

Catra felt people staring again, "Uh, no. After we graduated I was planning to join the military and she was too. We started working out together and taking dance classes on the side for fun. I met some girls from the club who were practicing at the dance studio and got curious. So, I applied on a whim and was actually surprised when they hired me, but when you're 19, broke, and living with four stoners in a one bedroom apartment… you take what you can get."

"And Scorpia?"

Catra smiled, "She's on a boat somewhere in the middle of the Pacific. Heard she's getting promoted soon."

Adora sighed in relief, "That's great for her! Are you… is she your…?" she inquired, somewhat nervously.

"Scorpia? Not a chance, she's waaay too clingy! If we ever did anything together she'd be U-Hauling into my house by the next morning," Catra joked. She tapped the side of her cup with a long, black nail and cleared her throat, "What about you? I'm sure you're pretty popular with those preppy Bright Moon princesses, yourself." 

Adora snorted and felt coffee almost go up her nose, coughing in between laughs, "What?! _-cough, cough-_ Yeah, right! My schedule's packed. I don't really get down-time. In fact today's probably the last chance I'll get to relax."

Without meaning to, Catra's smile faltered a bit, "Ah… that's too bad. I was gonna ask if you would be down to hang out again any time soon-"

"Yes!" Adora almost yelled out in excitement, "There's so much we should catch up on! You've gotta meet some of my other friends too, they would love you!" she beamed.

Catra's smile returned, "Yeah, that… sounds like fun! Here, gimme your phone," she reached out. Adora gladly handed over her phone and listened to Catra's nails tap on the screen as she typed in her number, "Let me know when you're free. I take the night shifts during the week, so I don't normally work nights on the weekends."

She handed the phone back to Adora and both of them felt a rush of electricity as their fingers brushed together. 

Adora could feel all the tension in her body release, "Y-yeah. Are you free next Saturday?"

Catra smirked, "It's a date."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *to the tune of the Pina Colada Song* If you like lesbian fanfic~! And a stripper AU~! If you like modern settings~! And a slow-burn fic too~! If you like self-indulgent writing~! And a hot new fresh take~! I'm the author you've looked for~! Read my fic and escape~~~!
> 
> I haven't written fanfic in 5 years and I was honestly so nervous to post this! I hope you guys enjoy reading it as I enjoyed writing it! The first 3 chapters will be posted all at once and the next 4 will be up next week. Feedback is appreciated. <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you are all so beautiful and gay. thank you for supporting my writing! I hope you enjoy the next chapters! <3

"Your _ex_?!" exclaimed Bow from the other side of the bar booth. "Why didn't you tell us?! Adora, we would have fireman carried you out of there!"

Adora let out a long, strained groan, "I know, I know! But I was afraid! I didn't know what she was going to do! I thought she was going to splash a drink in my face, and she had every right to!" 

"And why didn't you tell us you were from The Ho- over _there_?" asked Glimmer, not being able to hide the fact that she was a little hurt while placing a hand on top of Adora's, "You know where you come from doesn't matter to us."

"I knew that… but even then you wouldn't understand. Where I'm from, Bright Moon people are a little notorious for being, uh-"

"Stuck up?"  
"Snobby?"

"Your words, not mine!" Adora crossed her hands in front of her face defensively. 

Bow couldn't help but smirk, "Alright, forgiveness granted-" 

Adora sighed in relief.

"-on the condition..!" continued Glimmer, "that you tell us what happened between you two!"

Adora knew the day would come when she would have to tell her new best friends this story. "I'm gonna need a beer…"

\---

_I'm gonna need a beer…_ thought Adora, sitting up nervously in a stranger's bed, only covered by unfamiliar bed sheets. She took a sip from the solo cup sitting on the night stand next to her. Downstairs, a house party for the senior class raged on. She was never the partying type but it seemed to her that making it through high school and graduating next week was the appropriate time to party. 

After this she was headed to the University of Bright Moon and away from everything. Away from all the kids who shoved her into lockers at school, away from the teachers who relentlessly pressured her into getting a 4.0 GPA, away from her basketball coach who pushed her to the brink of insanity in pursuit of a good scholarship.

Just hopefully not away from-

"Are you ready~?" called a voice from the master bathroom across from the king-sized bed.

_Ready as I'll ever be_ , Adora thought to herself "Yeah, come on out, dork!" she laughed, trying to hide her anxiety.

Catra came out of the bathroom in nothing but an extra large t-shirt they had found in one of the room's dresser drawers. In her head, Adora was apologizing to her classmate's dad, because she was about to ruin that shirt by ripping it off of her girlfriend. 

Catra was undoubtedly a little tipsy, twirling around the room. She always hated how short and scrawny her body was but Adora thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Her and Catra had grown up together since kindergarten- there were family videos somewhere of them taking bubble baths together- but Adora had never seen Catra's body like this before. 

Catra flopped down on the bed next to Adora, "We really doing this?"

Adora blushed and nodded, "Door's locked and I think someone's starting a line for keg stands downstairs so we've got at least half an hour of privacy."

Catra giggled and sat up, moving closer to her girlfriend. She ran a hand through Adora's hair and rested it on her cheek, "I- um… I love you."

Adora screamed with joy on the inside. This was better than any scholarship, better than any college acceptance letter. "I love you too, Catra"

Catra smiled and looked towards the door, "Let's do this, we don't have much time" she said as she lifted the t-shirt up and over her head. Adora's eyes were fixated on Catra's chest, she had always complained that her boobs were too small but Adora thought they were the perfect size. Her eyes trailed down Catra's body and fixated on the belly ring that she had gotten two years ago. At the time it was a god-awful idea but it really did look good on her now. Catra had a line of body hair that led from the belly ring down… Adora had never seen that before now but she thanked any and all deities that had allowed her to see it tonight. 

Catra gently pulled down the comforter that Adora was using to cover herself. Quite the opposite from Catra, she was far from scrawny. Adora was always self-conscious of her height and the amount of muscle on her. She had hit puberty and burnt most of her baby fat sooner than the other kids in her school, but instead of the svelte, curvy figure that she had seen on all those instagram models, she was… well… buff. Catra did not have issue with this at all. She was star-struck by Adora's figure as she moved her hand down Adora's cheek to her collar bone and eventually toward the curve of her breast. 

Adora's heart skipped a beat, "Mmmaybe we should just make out for a bit?" her voice cracked.

Catra swallowed a lump in her throat "Y-yeah, no rush". 

The two kissed and tasted alcohol and weed on each other's breath. 

"Your breath stinks," laughed Catra.  
"Shut up! You're one to talk!" Adora countered.

Even through the sexual tension, they weren't above jabbing at each other. Catra leaned in for another kiss and smiled against her girlfriend's lips. Adora kissed back and felt the worries of the world melt away…

…At least that's what should have happened. The kiss was interrupted by a growing amount of noise from downstairs. 

"What's going o-" from the upstairs window Adora could see blue lights flashing outside the house, "SHIT!"

The two girls scrambled to get their clothes on, Catra bolted to pour whatever was in the solo cup into the bathroom sink. 

"Catra we don't have time, we've got to go!" Adora tossed her a shirt and a pair of shorts. From downstairs there was the unmistakable noise of a front door being busted down. She had to think fast. There wasn't a huge drop from the upstairs window to the ground but the only other option was getting caught, and a brush with the law would cost Adora everything she had worked so hard for. As she tried to pull the screen off the window she could hear the sound of multiple footsteps stomping up the stairs. 

"Catra, come _ON_!" Adora pleaded, finally managing to rip the screen off. There was a pounding at the door and before she could think she found herself crawling out the window, sliding down the roof of the house and landing on front lawn. By this time most of the kids were already hopping fences and trying to bolt from the house. Adora rode her adrenaline rush as far as it would take her and started sprinting with them, ignoring the sharp pain in her ankle. There was safety in numbers and she didn't have much time before the cops caught up to her. 

Adora's chest heaved as she ran down every street and alley she could recognize. She couldn't look back, she had to get away from the blue lights and away from-

_Oh, god, what have I done..!_ She stopped in the middle of a dark alley. Bare-foot, injured, and alone. She felt sick to her stomach, and she knew it wasn't from the drinks. 

Adora never really thought about hell, but the following week made her believe she was living in it. Catra was back at school and in the last few classes with her but refused to acknowledge Adora's existence. Every chance Adora got between classes she used to track her down to apologize but Catra was always a few steps ahead of her. She even tried showing up to Catra's house after school but her parents _insisted_ she wasn't home, even if her bedroom light was on and her skateboard was in the doorway. 

Catra didn't show up to their graduation ceremony. Adora had heard somewhere that she was still allowed to graduate but she just wasn't interested in walking with the rest of them. Catra was her only real friend and when Adora left for college she had no one to see her off. 

Eventually time moved on and so did the two of them, but the guilt was always in the back of Adora's mind.

\----  
"…and that's what happened" Adora finished, peeling off the last of the label on her empty bottle. 

Bow and Glimmer couldn't help but gape at their friend's story. 

"That's… heavy," Glimmer sighed.   
"No offense, but _I_ kind of want to throw a drink in your face," cringed Bow. 

"I know, okay?! I'm an awful person…" Adora felt the nausea building back up after all these years. 

Bow shook his head, "You're _not_ an awful person, Adora. You were a dumb kid who made a split decision that led to some… well… consequences-"

"But how many people get a second chance like this, right?!" interrupted Glimmer. "It's gotta be fate or something! You're both single! You're both willing to work this out! You're both still hot!"

Bow and Adora leaned in and raised an eyebrow at her. 

"That's not-! I mean-! U-uuh..! Hey, isn't that her now?!" 

Adora swung her head around to see Catra walk into the bar. She was dressed hybrid between the hyper-sexual "Catrina" and the cozy, casual Catra that Adora had seen the week before. She was good-looking as always but traded out six-inch heels for flat ankle boots and her faded band t-shirt and yoga pants for a low-cut blouse and ripped jeans. The same over-sized flannel from before was tied around her waist like a security blanket. 

Catra's eyes scanned the bar for a familiar face and noticed Adora waving to her from a corner booth, along with her two companions from the club. She gave a nervous half-smile while mentally preparing herself, _C'mon, Catra, they're just a couple of rich kids and your ex, they're not hungry sharks!_

As she made her way across the empty dance floor over to their booth, she noticed all three of them staring at her like she had two heads. Alright, why was the pink haired one not making eye contact now? Did the insta-famous dude look like he was about to cry? Why was Adora's section of the table was sprinkled with ripped-up beer label? _Oookay, maybe I would prefer the sharks._


	5. Chapter 5

"H-Hi! Catra, right? I'm Glimmer and this is Bow!" she gestured before sticking out her hand.

Catra shook her hand and tried to smile genuinely, "Yeah we've, uh, met before! How's it goin'?" she asked, looking towards Adora.

Adora brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "Oh, it's… going! We were able to get a table right away… and it's not that crowded y-"

"I can't do this!" Bow cut her off. "Catra, Adora told us everything that happened between you two." 

Catra was taken aback, she had known these people for, what, ten minutes total?! Now suddenly her dirty laundry was out on the front lawn?! She was about to open her mouth in defense when Bow continued. 

"And we think it was _totally_ messed up what Adora did to you in the past. _But_ in the spirit of leaving it all behind, we've decided to treat you tonight!"

"We have?" whispered Glimmer before being gently elbowed in the ribs, "I-I mean we have! Order anything you want, drinks are on us tonight! _All_ of us" she emphasized, while nodding to Adora. 

Adora looked up in surprise but when she realized Catra was eyeing her she started to nod with them, "That's right, anything you want!"

_Alright, I was skeptical at first. But these rich kids aren't half bad…_ Catra leaned forward on the table and hummed in thought, "Alriiight… Let's see. We should do a round of tequila shots together and then I want an A.M.F.-"

Adora smiled, "You got it!"

"-for Adora," Catra smirked. 

_Alright… I deserve this. Can good karma balance out alcohol poisoning?_

The first round of tequila shots hit the table and the group clinked their shot glasses together, "To new beginnings!" Bow cheered. He loved the taste of tequila and normally moved around so much that his system sweat it out in no time. Glimmer wasn't opposed to tequila but it wasn't necessarily her drink of choice, she was more of a vodka gal. Adora abhorred it, it was the one alcohol she couldn't tolerate, but it appeared that Catra could take it like a champ. Adora couldn't let Catra think that Bright Moon had made her go soft, so took the shot and tried not to gag. 

_Ugh, I guess it's not that bad, right?_ , she thought to herself before watching her ex slide a tall glass of blue liquid towards her.

"You'd better finish this without tapping out" smiled Catra, "You're paying for it."

_Yeah_ , thought Adora, _in more ways than one!_

The first round of drinks seemingly took the tension out of the booth. The Best Friend Squad was gladly willing to accept another member into their circle as they made small talk.

"So how do _you_ all know each other?" Catra asked while pointing towards the trio. 

"Well, Glimmer and I have basically been best friends since we were in diapers. But we met Adora at school in an drawing class!"

"Drawing?" she asked, nodding towards Adora, "This one? We always ditched art classes back in high school!"

"It's a cake credit," explained Glimmer "We all took it just to get it out of the way. Well my mom wanted me to be an interior design major so I could join her design firm. When I told her I was changing majors because I _hated_ art she was pretty torn up. Luckily _this one_ ," she said while pointing a finger at Adora, "actually had a knack for it. So I introduced them and now she interns for my mom."

Catra turned to face Adora, smirking at her judgmentally, _Nepotism, huh? That's new, but somehow not surprising._

Adora quickly turned to suck down the rest of her drink, _Great, now she thinks I'm a lightweight_ and _a suck-up._

Loud bass interrupted their thoughts. The group looked around to realize that a DJ was starting her set at the dance floor, "Do you guys want to go to another bar?" Catra yelled as she started to turn back to the table.

Bow had already fled to the dance floor and he had taken Glimmer hostage with him. Adora gasped and placed a hand on Catra's shoulder, a surprise that sent a wave of warmth through her body better than the tequila. "Let's go dance! C'mon~!"

Catra laughed, reaching up and over to put an arm around her old friend, "I don't think you're all that stable. We can just chill here until they get ba-"

"Whassa matter? Afraid I'm going to out-dance the _professional dancer_?" taunted Adora. Her eyelids were drooping a bit but there was an unmistakable challenge in the look she was giving her. 

Catra slid out of the booth, pulling Adora with her on her arm, "Alright, alright, you've convinced me! But don't say I didn't warn you!" The couple made their way over to Bow and Glimmer. 

"We ordered more drinks!" Glimmer yelled over the bass.

" _What?_ " mouthed Catra. 

" _We ordered more drinks!_ " she repeated. 

Adora swayed around Catra while holding her hand, "Yaaas~! More shots!" she drawled loudly. She threw her hands in the air and spun around before bending over in front of her ex, running her hands through her hair, and whipping it back quickly. _Aw yeah!_ she thought, _Gets 'em every time._

Catra sputtered as the tall blonde's hair flew into her face and mouth. Bow and Glimmer would have collapsed into howling laughter at Adora's bizarre mating ritual if the dance floor wasn't so packed. Their laughter was infectious and soon Catra doubled over as it brought her to tears. She hadn't had that much fun in a minute and a half. Catra tilted her head back and felt the tension roll off of her shoulders as she started swaying to the music with them. She was finally able to let go of everything knowing that she and her ex could feel this way again. 

The night went on and so did two more rounds of shots. By the time the bar rang the bell for last call, Bow and Catra were coherent enough to drive. Glimmer was present, but nowhere near capable of driving. Adora, on the other hand, was slurring gibberish while leaning on her ex. "You are so… voluminous~" Adora drawled while petting Catra's head. 

"I drove us here," Bow explained while they made their way for the exit, "I can take Adora home after I drop off Glimmer."

"Bow, we should go to a taco truck~!" Glimmer cooed, half-awake. 

Catra laughed, trying not to buckle under the weight of her significantly taller friend, "Looks like you got your hands full. She can stay at my place tonight. I'm not sure her roommate would appreciate her stumbling in drunk at 3 AM."

Bow agreed and the two of them exchanged numbers. "Text me when you're home!" he hollered over his shoulder.

"Okay!" Catra called as she slowly walked Adora back to her car. 

"Where'r we goin?" mumbled Adora. 

"We're going back to my house."

The tall blonde gasped, "Catra, you have a house~?! You're like _rich~_!"  
\---

Adora came to from the sensation of something smothering her, _Last night… the bar… Catra… tequila… Oh god it happened! She left me there as payback! Someone's trying to kill me!_

She frantically sat up and snapped her eyes open, feeling like something had been flung off of her face. Adora breathed heavily and quickly whipped her head around the room. Where was she?

_Bed… Okay… wait, whose bed?!_

She took stock of her surroundings. The room was a pigsty! An inconsistent variety of clothes were scattered across the floor and bed. There was a vanity mirror in the corner that made it look like someone had been hoarding makeup palettes for the last century. There were band posters peeling off walls. The closet door was open to display a variety of platform heels. In another corner, somehow missing a nearby trash can, was what Adora could only describe as a graveyard of empty Redbull cans. 

The epiphany comforted and mortified her at the same time, _CATRA'S BED. Where are my…?_ She scanned the room for any sign of her own belongings. Her clothes form the night before were neatly folded in a pile in the corner with her phone charging on top of them. She looked down and noticed that all she was wearing was her own underwear and Catra's large, flannel shirt. _What did we do last night?! And what was on my face?!_

At the foot of the bed was an unreasonably fluffy maine coon cat, swishing its tail back and forth. Adora slowly got out of bed, collected her pants, and made way for the rest of the house. 

The hallway was pretty clean compared to the bed room. The tiny house only had one bathroom and a hall closet. Adora peeked around the corner to the living room, where Catra was sitting on the floor watching Netflix and eating cereal. The unreasonably fluffy cat brushed past her leg and bolted towards its owner. 

Catra gave the cat a scratch behind the ear and under its chin, "Hey, baby, what's up?" Adora was about to turn back to collect the rest of her clothes when her ex called out, "I wasn't talking to the cat, you know."

Adora groaned and made her way into the living room, sitting on the couch behind Catra. "What- uh… what happened last night?" she asked, her throat dryer than she thought it would be. 

“We had hours and hours of passionate love-making, babe~!”

“WE DI-?!”

“Mm, no. You had three shots of Tequila and an A.M.F. at the bar. I drove you back to my place so your roommate didn't kill you. When we got here you stripped off all your clothes, held my cat hostage for cuddles while calling it my name, and passed out in my bed. Aaand I think that's about it! Oh you also took up all the space so I slept on the couch.” Catra recalled gleefully. 

"Oh… fantastic…" Adora said, flopping onto the sofa, "You know this reunion of ours is going great. First you give me a spiteful lap dance, then you ambush me at my apartment, and now I've gotten blackout drunk with you. Who says romance is dead?" she groaned, letting the cat walk up to her and paw at her hand. 

Catra turned around, leaning her elbows on the sofa and resting her chin in her hands while looking down at Adora. "Who said anything about romance?" 

That comment was the final defeat… Adora didn't know how much more embarrassment she could take. She knew she shouldn't have expected anything but disappointment as she sat up and started to tie her hair into a ponytail, "I should go. Thanks for letting me stay the night." As she started to get up from the sofa, she felt a hand grab her wrist.

"Hey wait…" Catra started, "Look, I'm not good at this either, okay? It's not like I planned to meet up with you like this again. I'm playing this by ear too, so cut me some slack, alright?"

Adora felt her heart beating faster, she wanted to wait to ask Catra this question… wanted to give them time to get to know each other as friends again before ruining it. But she needed to know, "Catra… what _are_ we right now?"

Catra couldn’t look Adora in the eye, but she couldn't let go either, "I don't know. What-" she cleared her throat, "…what do you _want_ us to be?" 

Adora sighed and sat on the floor next to Catra. It had been a while since they were face-to-face like this with no distractions. She reached up and brushed Catra's long bangs out of her eyes. Catra tried to sit still and not shiver at her ex's touch. Were they still ex's? She squeezed her eyes shut and felt something warm and soft grazing the freckles on her cheek. When she opened her eyes Adora was gently resting her hand on Catra's face. Catra leaned her head into it and closed her eyes again as Adora kissed her cheek, then her forehead, then her lips. Catra kissed back, slowly and cautiously at first, then more passionately. Wrapping an arm around Adora's neck and pulling her closer. 

The kisses grew more and more heated, Adora felt Catra's tongue tease against her lips and she opened her mouth to let it in. Adora caressed it with her lips for a moment before teasing Catra by gently biting her lower lip. Catra moaned softly and leaned back, taking the tall, muscular blonde with her. Adora was on top of her, leaning one hand on the floor so she wouldn't crush her friend and at the same time using the other to pin her wrist down. The two girls broke apart to analyze each other. 

"We should go back to the bed," suggested Catra. 

"Nah," Adora replied, leaning down to nibble on Catra's collarbone and sliding a knee between her legs as Catra couldn't help but let out a whine. Adora trailed her hand down the length of Catra's arm, along her chest, and over her neck before finally resting it underneath her chin. Adora tilted Catra's face up so that the gold and blue eyes were forced to meet her own. There was a rush of dominance that Adora had never felt before, but she'd be damned if she wasn't willing to find out where it would take them. "We've got four years to make up for. If we're doing this, we're doing it here and now."

Catra couldn't help but feel the corners of her mouth pulling into a defiant grin as she squinted her eyes. She sat up, leaning on her elbows, Adora's hand still underneath her chin, "Aww, Adora~" she teased "You wanna make up for lost time..?" Adora breathed heavily as she felt Catra's claw-like nail trace up her own arm and around her shoulder before suddenly grabbing hold and pulling on her ponytail. Adora let out a gasp of excitement as Catra used her friend's leverage to pull her self up and whisper in her ear, "…Then we've got a lot of catching up to do. I'll see you in the bedroom."


	6. Chapter 6

Adora laid on her back in the mess of sheets and pillows on Catra's bed. She could feel the full weight of her lover on her pelvis as Catra straddled her in nothing but a bralette and underwear. Catra's piercings made her hard nipples stand out through the fabric and it made Adora even more lustful and curious than she had already been. 

Catra leaned over Adora and ran a hand from her neck down to her breast, before kneading at it lightly. The open flannel Adora was wearing had been Catra's from the night before and it turned her on to see her partner draped in it, almost like a sign of ownership- 

The thought was disrupted by Adora wrapping her arms around Catra's waist and pulling her in to plant a warm, wet kiss between her neck and her collar bone. Catra sighed deeply from the sensation of Adora's bare skin against her own before urging her to stop, "Adora~ I can't have hickeys at work…"

Adora smiled into the crook of her neck, "Your work is dark, they can't tell… besides I don't think anyone looks at your neck…" she teased, using a hand to reach out and graze over one of Catra's piercings with her thumb. 

Catra let out a quick gasp and rolled her hips into Adora's, a knee-jerk reaction to the stimulation. Adora grinned and gave the piercing a quick twist, coaxing a louder moan out of her, " _Fuck..!_ " 

Adora pulled back and ran a hand through Catra's thick, brunette hair, "Sorry… was that too rough?"

Catra laughed as she sat up and dragged her hand along the length of her lover's abdomen, feeling the toned muscle, "I know it's been a while, but you should know," she slid her hand back up to Adora's breast and firmly tugged on the large, pink nipple as Adora let out a moan, "I _only_ play rough…"

_Fuck, that's hot…_ Adora considered that statement her green-light to try to remove Catra's panties, but when she was just about to reach for them Catra locked her fingers with Adora's and pinned her arm into the mattress. 

"First, one thing- I have a safe word."

Adora squeezed her partner's hand in agreement, "Okay, what's the safe word?"

Catra leaned in and nibbled on Adora's ear. The sensation sent shockwaves down her lover's spine and between her legs, "If it starts to get too intense for you, the word is 'grayskull'. Got it?" she whispered in a smoky, deep drawl. 

Adora swallowed as the hand that was gripping Catra's went limp, "G-got it…"

"I need to hear you say it." Catra demanded, releasing Adora's hand to firmly grasp her by the chin. 

Adora could feel her heart pounding inside of her chest. She was far from a virgin, but she had never been with a partner who was this serious about sex before. The dominant glare from Catra's eyes communicated that she was dead serious… but so was Adora, "Grayskull," she repeated. 

Catra reached for Adora’s hand and gently kissed her knuckles before lightly sucking on her index finger, "Good girl," she praised. Catra moved her body off of Adora's and stripped herself of her panties before straddling her again, this time in a reverse cowgirl position. Adora watched as the cat paw tattoos on the back of Catra's thighs moved closer and closer to her face.

Catra lowered herself on to Adora's mouth and leaned forward, beginning to feel the sensation of warm, wet tongue between her thighs. She was about to lean over and toy with her partner's clitoris before hearing a muffled noise that sounded a lot like Adora saying "Grayskull!"

Catra quickly moved herself off of Adora's mouth and turned her head to look at her, "What, was I smothering you?"

"No, no you were fine! It's just that… your um… nails…" she said apologetically. 

"Oh! Right..!" Catra moved her hand up to her mouth and from behind her Adora could hear the tiny _crack!_ noise as Catra broke off the press-on nails from her pointer and middle fingers with her teeth, revealing two neatly trimmed nails underneath, "Better?"

_God, I think I'm in love_ , "Better!"

"Good!" she smiled, steadily lowering her hips back on to Adora's face. Her partner's tongue eagerly went back to work, licking rhythmically in long, smooth motions as her warm hands massaged Catra's tattoos. 

Catra whined in pleasure, spreading her legs out more to feel Adora's tongue deeper inside of her before leaning forward to return the favor for her partner. 

The warmth from between Catra's thighs radiated around Adora's cheeks as she could feel her lover's tongue circling her own clit. She closed her eyes and kneaded at Catra's ass with her hands before feeling the sensation of a finger stroking along the inside of her pussy and drawing out her wetness. 

Adora moaned in bliss and the vibration from her voice sent ripples into Catra, motivating her to toy with her partner even more. Catra used her tongue to lightly flick the tip of Adora's clitoris before giving it a firm but gentle suck. 

Adora pulled her face back, arching her back and gasping in surprise, causing Catra to suck harder. She laid her head against the pillow and, using one of the hands that had been caressing Catra's legs, turned the palm of her hand up. Adora began to use her index finger to penetrate her lover; at first her movements were slow and cautious but after noticing how easily she was sliding in she added another finger, watching webs of stickiness form between them. 

Once again, Catra reciprocated by finger-fucking Adora on the opposite side. She was not as gentle as her lover, instead she rapidly used her two fingers to pulse in and out of her, curling them up in a come-hither motion. Adora could feel Catra pounding at her G-spot and the sensation was going to drive her crazy, "Fuck- right there~! Don't stop~!"

Catra grinned devilishly, pulling her fingers out of Adora and going back to slowly tracing the wetness around her pussy, "If you want to cum, you're gonna have to beg for it…" 

Adora squeezed at Catra's thighs form behind as she begged, "Please, _please, Catra~!_ "

Just hearing Adora say her name was motivation enough as Catra leaned over, furiously pushing her fingers in and out of her while using her tongue to lap at her partner's clit. 

Adora pressed her head against the pillow and squeezed Catra's thighs as her breathing got heavier and her moans grew in octave, "I'm gonna cu-!"

" _Adora~!_ " Catra mewled from the other side, finally pushing Adora over the edge. 

She felt fire ripple through her body as all of her muscles contracted and released at once, thrusting her hips in time with Catra's fingers. Just when she thought it was over, Catra continued to lap at Adora's pussy with her tongue, pushing her into another orgasm. 

"Oh, _fuck_ , Catra, _ple-_ " Adora was about to ask her to stop, but the sensation was so intense that she couldn't get the words out. Catra showed no mercy, continuing to eat her partner out and urging her to cum for a second time.

Catra felt Adora push their bodies together as her back arched and her pelvis thrust forward, accompanied by a long whining moan and what looked like something rapidly dripping out from between her legs. Catra watched the display with intense satisfaction before finally releasing her partner and moving to sit next to her. 

Adora laid on the bed, breathing heavily as she could feel Catra curl up next to her and beam with pride. Four years of waiting was well worth it. 

Adora turned over and planted a grateful kiss on her lover's lips, tasting herself for just a moment. "That was amazing… I'm sorry I couldn't make you-"

Catra returned the kiss and ran a hand through Adora's hair, "Hey, don't be sorry. I didn't say we were done yet~"


	7. Chapter 7

Adora heard and felt the _click!_ Of Catra tightening the harness around her hips. Adora had never used one of these before but she was eager to learn from someone who was so eager to teach.

“Is that okay? It’s not too tight on you?” asked Catra, stroking Adora’s new strap-on. The image was nice but Adora obviously couldn’t feel anything. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she confirmed, watching Catra squeeze a bottle of lubricant into the palm of her hand and caressing the dildo with it. 

Catra straddled Adora once more and was about to lower herself on to her when the blonde bottom leaned up to kiss Catra's neck. Catra let out a deep sigh of pleasure- they had been physical with each other for less than an hour and Adora had already managed to find her sweet-spot. Adora used her hand to lightly run her nails over Catra's bare back and tattooed shoulders. 

Catra's earlier words resounded in Adora's mind, _She only plays rough, huh..?_ Adora began to lightly nibble at Catra's neck and the moans grew increasingly louder. Arching her back in pleasure, Catra craned her neck and Adora took the opportunity to trail her kisses down to her partner's breast. 

Catra's lean thighs clenched around Adora as she lightly sucked on her pierced nipple. "Ador _aaaa~_ " she called out, raking her fingers through her lover's hair.

Adora traced her tongue around the perimeter of Catra's piercing as she moved her hand between her partner's legs. Catra gasped as she felt Adora's warm fingers circling her clit, causing her to grow more and more wet by the second. Adora broke away from Catra's nipple, looked her in the eye, and moved her hands to firmly grasp her by the hips. She leaned into her partner's ear, "Are you ready?" she whispered, faking more confidence than she really had. 

From the way Catra had been acting, Adora assumed that she was the one who was far more experienced sexually. Adora's heart pounded in her chest and she began to sweat nervously. What if her performance couldn't meet up to her bravado? What if there was no climax to their four years of waiting? What if-

Catra slid her hands down the back of Adora's head and neck before resting on her shoulders and massaging slowly. Adora could tell that she was feeling up the muscle. Catra's mismatched eyes studied her submissive but this look was somehow different… her usual confident, dominant attitude was absent.

This look was an expression of patience. So much time and distance had passed between the two and the realization of that seemed to hit both of them at once. Things were different now… _they_ were different now. New muscles, new tattoos, new life experiences… but the same longing. Déjà vu overcame them with the same sensations they had felt at that party all those years ago- curiosity, eagerness, fear, admiration. 

Catra's nails dug into Adora's shoulders as she could feel herself reverting back into that awkward teenager, gawking disbelief that someone this beautiful was hers. She studied Adora's strong features in silence for a moment, drinking her in like tequila and feeling the warmth of familiarity radiate through her. Years apart and without a doubt this was still the Adora she knew… robust and enduring on the outside, soft and genuine on the inside. 

From underneath her, Adora analyzed Catra in the same way. She couldn't help but feel like some barrier between them had just come down. She locked eyes with her lover and gently moved her hands up and down Catra's curves, feeling as if she was petting a stray cat that she had just coaxed into trusting her. Adora reached up with one hand to brush Catra's bangs out of her face and sighed, "I… I think I still love you…"

Catra swallowed hard in an attempt to suppress her anxiety before confessing, "I know I still love you."

Affectionate arms wrapped themselves around Catra's tiny frame and pulled her in for a kiss of reconciliation. Catra felt her inhibition melt away and returned Adora's embrace.

They held each other close, each feeling the other's heartbeat beneath warm and inviting skin. Adora stroked Catra's hair and rested her chin against her lover's shoulder, "Do you want to keep going?" she asked with caution. 

Catra nodded, knowing that this would be different from the foreplay they had performed for each other. They had something new to work with. Passionate sex was never a question for the two of them, but loving sex was something neither had encountered yet. 

Catra placed a hand on top of Adora's and guided it back towards her entrance, closing her eyes and letting her partner stroke her.

Adora moved in and out of Catra slowly and methodically. She used the other hand to trace the curve of her body, moving from her torso down towards thighs. Adora looked up at Catra and pulled the hand out from between her legs before replacing it back on her hip. "Are you ready?" she asked again, this time with whole-hearted confidence. 

Catra nodded, placing her hands on her partner's shoulders and lowering herself on to the strap on. She sighed in bliss, feeling herself slide down on to the toy as Adora began to rock her hips. The pressure from Catra on her pelvis pushed the strap down on to Adora's clitoris and she moaned in harmony with her lover. "Like this?" she asked almost breathlessly.

"God, yeah… _just_ like that, Adora." Catra whined.

Adora began thrusting more and more rhythmically, watching as Catra leaned back to grab the bed sheets. She strengthened the grasp on Catra's hips as her partner's moans grew increasingly louder. 

Before long, Catra began to gyrate her own hips and ride Adora harder and harder. The top used one of her hands to rub her clit and stimulate herself. The image of Catra touching herself drove Adora crazy with lust. She pulled the herself out quickly, causing Catra to gasp in surprise. In one swift movement, Adora used all of her strength to grasp Catra by the thighs and flip her on to her back. 

Catra stared in wide-eyed shock at Adora's sudden rush of courage and the blonde's cheeks turned red, "I-I'm sorry… you're just so fucking hot when you're like tha-"

"No, no! Don't be sorry, keep going~!" Catra encouraged, using her own fingers to spread herself open. " _Please_ don't stop, Adora!"

Hearing Catra beg for her was all she needed to hear before placing the toy back at the entrance and pushing herself in. Catra cried out in ecstasy as the new position had allowed Adora to hit _right_ at her G-spot. 

Adora thrust her hips forward again and again, feeling Catra's arms wrap around her back and her nails claw at her skin. Just the sensation alone made Adora moan out in pleasure. 

"Is it good, babe~? Is this what you like~?"  
"Yes~! _God_ , yes!!" she cried, wrapping her legs around Adora's waist and pushing her in deeper as she felt two warm hands support her weight by grabbing her ass. 

Adora was almost out of breath but the feeling of Catra burrowing her head into her neck and muffling her cries against Adora's flesh persuaded her to keep thrusting. She could tell that Catra was almost at her limit so she couldn't stop now! 

"Adora, I'm so _close_ ~!"  
" _Fuck, Catra~!_ "

Catra's orgasm hit her like a rush of fire coursing throughout her body. Adora's fingers tangled with her hair as she arched her back in euphoria, pushing herself closer and closer against her lover and clawing deeper into her flesh.

Adora held her close, feeling Catra's body twitch with release. She breathed heavily trying to gain back her composure as Catra carefully dismounted from her. Adora removed the strap-on and laid against the pillow. Catra laid next to her and curled into a fetal position, nuzzling her head against her partner's shoulder. Adora wrapped her arms around her lover and kissed the top of her head. 

"I love you, Adora" Catra murmured into her chest.   
"I love you too, Catra" Adora replied, this time with no hesitation. 

The two held each other close, listening to one another's breathing. Adora felt the exhaustion settle back into her body as she drifted off to sleep. The slow, rhythmic noise of Adora's breath lulled Catra into her own slumber.  
\---

By the time both of them woke up, the sun was already beginning to set. Adora leaned against the counter in Catra's kitchen, watching as her no-longer-ex-girlfriend turned on the stove to cook them dinner. 

Catra looked up at her and sighed, "It sucks that you have to go back tonight. Why are you such an over-achiever?" she joked, sticking out her tongue. 

Adora moved behind her partner and wrapped her arms around her, "I know, I know, I'm awful. But you're not getting rid of me that easily, I know where you live _and_ where you work. Don't think I'm not gonna show up and embarrass you with my friends again, I'm conspiring with Glimmer and Bow to bring you lunch at some point."

Catra laughed and turned to kiss her girlfriend's cheek, "You're gonna be bad for business, babe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to everyone who stuck it out until the end!! I'm so so grateful to all of you for the support and feedback, love y'all <3


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